Neutering

Hi there,

Can someone direct me to information on age to neutering a male puppy? I have a 3 month old pure bred. I live in the US, so at times my dog often gets categorized as a pitbull or the American staff. I live in the US and my vet is similar to the ASPCA. I feel that they tend to push getting this done at a young age because they want to promote controlling the pet population. I support that as well as the other benefits. I just want to better understand the full picture before I bring my pet in to be Neutered.

I have read a lot of conflicting information on neutering. My biggest concern is if I do this too young. I want to better understand if my puppy will act like a puppy permanently if I do this to young, for example. or if it will grow differently.

Has anyone neutered young/old at what age and seen any affects of these statements? Does anyone one know the best age range to neuter your puppy. are there any studies specific to staffy neutering?


thanks for those who post!

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me.

There are many arguments for and against this, if you do decide to go ahead with it please wait until he is mature at about 18 months - 2 years old.

Hi &

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Hello and welcome to the forum from me and the kids

Welcome have a read of this, hopefully it'll help weigh out the pros and cons:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t12763-long-term-health-risks-and-benefits-associated-with-spay-neuter-in-dogs

Early neutering is pushed on dog owners a lot, but as long as you know the possible risks with it, it's your decision personally, I've decided not to neuter Loki, but if I were going to, it'd be when he's two years old so he's matured.

Welcome to the forum from me and the Monster

Logan isn't neutered and won't be. But if you want to, it's best to wait until 18-24 months or as late as possible to allow them to fully mature.

Interesting first post! Personal decision, both my girls have been done at a young age, Moo looks great with an attitude to match.

Hiya from us Xx

My male was done when he was under a year - forget exactly how young he was, i think about 10 months and its not effected his growth/development.

Hello and welcome from me and ebony! due to ebony beig a rescue, she came in as a puppy and had already been spayed in the previous rescue center before our center collected her so I'm not sure of her nurturing age but she's not turned 12 months yet and she's still growing and changing all the time!

Hello and welcome from me and Daisy

I got Daisy as a rescue and they said she was 1/2, I had her spayed after her first season with me.

Hey and welcome!

I'm glad you asked - a lot of people go ahead with important decisions without thinking it through. What ever you decide to do, it's always best to research! As people have already said, it really is down to personal choice.

Personally, I believe that it affects different dogs in different ways. With some, early neutering may not be detrimental to the dog at all, but with others it could cause their growth to be stunted and their behaviour to stay very puppy-like.

The link Tara provided is quite useful for finding out the facts. Good luck!

Hi & welcome from us

Hi everyone,

thank you for welcoming me and your thoughts. I really appreciate it. The article was very helpful. I am still torn, but glad I have not rushed the decision. this is a great resource for me and how to raise my pup. Its great to have found a group who understands what type of dog I have!

Nice to have you on board, all experience is helpful

Hi & welcome.

I don't neuter my dogs, but that's a personal decision after weighing up the pros & cons. If you do decide to neuter I would always recommend waiting for full mental & physical maturity, which for s stafford is probably around 2 years old.

rescuestaffords wrote:My male was done when he was under a year - forget exactly how young he was, i think about 10 months and its not effected his growth/development.

You can't possibly say that, as you don't know what he'd have been like if he hadn't been neutered.

Early neutering makes the growth plates close later than normal, which results in a narrower, leggier dog. You also risk 'fixing' your dog's mental age so that he remains a 'pup' all his life.

Hi Bambam - Kuchar is my first Staffie and my first male dog (I always had bitches previously). I was encouraged by my vet to neuter him at 6 months old. However, I explored on the internet and received advice from the good people on this forum, and decided that for me at least, I wanted my dog to mature physically and if possibly mentally (and I have been concerned about the "perpetual puppy" syndrome), before he was neutered, if at all.

Kuchar is now nearly 16 months old and for him I feel the time has come - it may be earlier or later for individual dogs and only you can decide - it is a decision not to be undertaken lightly.

Hi and welcome from us and Suki

Hi and welcome from me and Vinnie

Hi and welcome from the kids and I

Hi and welcome from me and the furballs, hope you enjoy the forums

hi from me and the boys

I personally do not neuter my dogs at all, but if you are set on neutering i'd always advice waiting until a minimum of 18 months

welcome

Hi & welcome to the forum

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to give you an update from my recent vet visit. We took Bam Bam in for his rabies over the weekend and asked about neutering. The first person said, he has his rabies, its time! Not sure what one has to do with the other, but ok, its this persons opinion and what a typical answer is from this clinic. The next person I spoke with was the vet who did say she likes to neuter males a little bit older but should still do around 9 months. I expressed my concern about his growth, but she insisted this time would be ok. There is a pit bull/pit mix (including my breed) ordinance that says I have to neuter him, but does not specify at what time. Still not sure what to do, but I just wanted to share what happened.

Well make your own mind up, its your choice

As long as you know the pros and cons with neutering, and particularly the possible risks with early neutering, it's entirely your choice. I would wait until he's older, personally, but as long as you've made an informed decision rather than following what everyone says and neutering them as soon as you're told to, it's down to you

Caryll wrote:

rescuestaffords wrote:My male was done when he was under a year - forget exactly how young he was, i think about 10 months and its not effected his growth/development.

You can't possibly say that, as you don't know what he'd have been like if he hadn't been neutered.

Early neutering makes the growth plates close later than normal, which results in a narrower, leggier dog. You also risk 'fixing' your dog's mental age so that he remains a 'pup' all his life.

He is 15" to the withers and no different to an entire male in size, muscle etc. As for his mental age, he's absolutley fine and hasn't retained any puppy like behaviour.

rescuestaffords wrote:

Caryll wrote:

rescuestaffords wrote:My male was done when he was under a year - forget exactly how young he was, i think about 10 months and its not effected his growth/development.

You can't possibly say that, as you don't know what he'd have been like if he hadn't been neutered.

Early neutering makes the growth plates close later than normal, which results in a narrower, leggier dog. You also risk 'fixing' your dog's mental age so that he remains a 'pup' all his life.

He is 15" to the withers and no different to an entire male in size, muscle etc. As for his mental age, he's absolutley fine and hasn't retained any puppy like behaviour.

I'm not going to start an argument or a debate, but it's a fact that early neutering results in a taller, narrower dog (note, it doesn't affect muscle developement), and can affect mental developement/maturity. As I said before, you can't possibly say that his growth hasn't been affected, as you don't know what he would have looked like had he not been neutered early.

Caryll wrote:
I'm not going to start an argument or a debate, but it's a fact that early neutering results in a taller, narrower dog (note, it doesn't affect muscle developement), and can affect mental developement/maturity. As I said before, you can't possibly say that his growth hasn't been affected, as you don't know what he would have looked like had he not been neutered early.

Could you not argue that the other way round also? ................ and no I don't want a debate about it either Mrs C. We all have our own opinions and it has to be a personal choice

janey wrote:

Caryll wrote:
I'm not going to start an argument or a debate, but it's a fact that early neutering results in a taller, narrower dog (note, it doesn't affect muscle developement), and can affect mental developement/maturity. As I said before, you can't possibly say that his growth hasn't been affected, as you don't know what he would have looked like had he not been neutered early.

Could you not argue that the other way round also? ................

Yes, and no. It's a fact that the growth plates close later when a dog is neutered early, and it's a fact that they will be taller & narrower because of that.

Obviously you can't undo what's done, so you can't know exactly what the difference would be, but there will be a difference.

Hi and welcome from Me n Steffi

Hello and welcome aboard